Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Decent skiing and good zipping at Canyons

4th February 2012, by Dave Watts

Dave about to be launched on a half-mile zip line at Canyons

Dave about to be launched on a half-mile zip line at Canyons

On Wednesday I explored the trails of Canyons, the largest single resort ski area in Utah and among the five biggest in the USA. It was expanded this season by the opening of the resort’s ninth peak, Iron Mountain. The new peak adds more of the same rather than more variety – Canyons runs are typically tree-lined, short and with long, almost flat run-outs (though you can find every degree of steepness from almost flat to super-steep).

The snow on the groomed trails was fine apart from the odd icy patch on some of the steeper runs. And snow on the Ninety Nine 90 peak, which offers only ungroomed black runs down was surprisingly good compared with what I’d experienced in Alta and Snowbird the previous two days.

But the highlight of my day was trying the new zip wire that stretches for almost half a mile across a deep canyon (US-speak for valley) near the centre of the ski area. After two training runs on much shorter wires to get used to the equipment and how to slow down or speed up, there I was standing hundreds of feet above the valley launching myself into the unknown. Around a minute later I was being freed from the harness and pulleys after a thrilling ride among spectacular scenery – I loved it.

The traffic-free Canyons resort (at the foot of the ski hill in the suburbs of Park City) has grown substantially in the last few years and is now under new ownership by a company that has grand plans for moving the resort up market. It has already moved the gondola to a more convenient position for day visitors and installed the USA’s first chairlift with both a bubble to protect you from the weather and heated seats. It has also brought in a new chef to improve the resort-owned restaurants who uses, as far as possible, local produce only. Certainly the meals I had at mid-mountain Lookout Cabin and the new Farm at resort level were excellent.

Next stop is Park City itself – more news from there soon.

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